Silence over the Lake
by chuxter
Summary: 'Asylum'-based SLASH. The boys agree not to talk again after a fight. But what will happen when they get thrown together in a desperate race to solve a homicide? Well actually they'll refuse to share info & work together for ages.. but you don't know that
1. Game

**Hey, this is my first due south fic.  
>Set after Asylum in series 3, it's a slash so if you don't like, don't read. Also, it starts off mild but may well be an M by the end so don't get lulled into a false sense of security if you dislike mann on mann :)<br>PLEAAASSSE review!  
>Ta xx<strong>

Ray leaned back on the sofa and nursed his beer, his eyes never leaving the TV screen, no way was he gonna miss the game! He pushed his shoes off and crossed his feet on the table, ignoring the shuffling beside him which indicated Fraser's disapproval of this action. Ray started the internal countdown until Fraser's next 'helpful suggestion'.  
><em>3..2..1..and..<em> "You know, Ray, pushing your shoes off your feet like that may actually really damage them. The shoes, that is." Fraser begun.  
>Ray suppressed an internal eye roll, instead choosing to actually physically roll his eyes, sigh and begin with an eloquent, "<em>What <em>Fraser? I'm a man and I'ma take my shoes off any way I want."  
>A stubborn glint entered his partner's eyes, "Well, that may be so Ray. But I fail to see how being a man has anything to do with an inability to correctly remove certain items of clothing. Although, having said that, I did once happen to know a young boy by the name of Oliver Lowther who, on more than one occasion, used to.."<br>"_Fraser! _I don't _care_!"  
>"Ah." And so the conversation ended as suddenly as it had begun.<br>Silence lapped around them again for a short while, before a news bulletin flashed up, showing a very irritable Kayhill being led away to a police car, whilst a proud Constable Benton Fraser and Inspector Walsh looked on from the steps of the Canadian consulate. It then flicked to a zoomed-in view of Ray walking away from the camera, whilst looking off to his left. Ray briefly recalled this being his revisit to the alleyway, to show where his attacker had initially concealed himself, but to the uninformed viewer he was aware he probably looked like a thug.  
>Fraser clearly also noticed this, as he took the chance to comment, "It's strange how the media choose a set persona for each person they come across. Ordinary people seem to be turned into characters from books in the eyes of reporters."<br>"Yeah, well they were pushing the idea of me as a thug all through the case; too late to change tune now. Easier for 'em just to say I was a strong suspect, but turns out I'm just an innocent tough-guy."  
>The reporter talking over the image was speaking about Ray's 'past affiliations with the gangster community, particularly one young boy, later suspected of murder, for whom he acted as a <em>boxing<em> coach.'  
>The TV screen pinged out of life as Ray hit the stand-by on the remote, glaring at the screen, "He was innocent!" Ray could barely hide his outrage, "They're making me out like I'm some gang land cop who lets his pals off the hook for murder! Great! Just what I need right now."<br>"Well I fail to see how this could be beneficial to you Ray." Fraser chirped up in an enquiring tone, "Surely if anything it must be.."  
>"<em>Fraser! <em>I'm being _ironical._" Ray sighed, "Let's just thank God they didn't see what went down in that alley before the shooting, 'cos I'm telling you Fraser it would _not _help my case right now!" He smirked to himself, turning his gaze back toward the blank TV.  
>"Ah, uhm Ray?"<br>"Yeah Fraser?" Ray saw Fraser clicking his neck and rubbing his eyebrow out of the corner of his eye. The internal countdown started again.  
>"What, uhm.. That is.. If you don't mind my asking, what exactly did 'go down' in that alleyway?" Fraser took a slight breath in, waiting for the reply. He didn't know what he expected Ray to say; they had fought, Ray had shouted and become irritable, anything really, anything except the reply he got.<br>"Aw y'know Frase, just a bit of idle chat, and a harmless flirt with eachother."  
>"A flirt?" Fraser looked at Ray in confusion, "Did I mishear that Ray?"<p>

**T.B.C. sorry! the first chappy is just setting the scene, I swear this gets more exciting xD**


	2. Argument

**Chapter 2 :DD The fight  
>Enjoy xx<strong>

"Nope! You got it Fraser." Came Ray's provokingly nonchalant reply. Good God, did this man _never _take anything seriously? Fraser calmed himself before proceeding.  
>"Ah, I see..What do you mean by 'flirt' Ray?" That would be it! Fraser thought, some harmless slang that Ray had used, which actually had a completely different meaning, perhaps it was even a boxing term, suggesting they had simply squared up to one another in preparation for a fight.<br>"Exactly what I said Frase. We squared up to eachother, got nice'n' close, there was a lot of smirking and grinning and eye contact, he asked if he could check me for a wire and patted me down.." Ray paused for a while, and Fraser felt relief begin to wash over him; it seemed as if they had simply been showing off how tough they were, but then Ray continued, "and uh.. he cupped me through my pants.. heh..so I returned the favour, patted him round the head a bit and had a laugh y'know. Then the shooting started.." Ray trailed off, indicating his uncertainty about the ensuing events.  
>"He.. uhm.. ahh.. he, that is to say.." Fraser's lips moved in that weird way he had, "he <em>cupped <em>your.. your, uhm p-personal area.." his voice cracked a little as he started saying personal, "through your trousers?" Fraser reached for his collar, pulling it away from his neck with an uncomfortable grimace on his face.  
>"Yeah Frase, jeez! It's no big deal. I've done <em>more<em> than that loadsa times." Ray glared over at Fraser, making the heat under his collar become even more uncomfortable.  
>"No.." suddenly Fraser couldn't hold it in, "<em>No big deal! How <em>can this be 'no big deal'? I fail to see how you didn't think to mention this before!"  
>"<em>Fraser! <em>Chill _out! _It wasn't relevant, and besides, it really isn't a big deal.. I 'fail to see' how you think it was even worth mentioning _now_, let alone in the middle of an investigation!"  
>"<em>Ray!<em> This is _incredibly _relevant! This affects everything, you, me.. everything!" Fraser glared at his partner in disbelief, _how long? _How long had he harboured feelings for this man and kept it secret, and_ now _Ray just told him, in this casual way, that he had in fact never been averse to such relations!  
>"Well maybe I don't want it to affect anything, not you and me or my job.. nothing!" Ray felt his muscles tense up as he prepared for a possible fight, he couldn't help but be hurt that Fraser had reacted so strongly; he had hoped that if Fraser was not altogether interested in taking part in certain fantasies Ray had nursed since they met, he would at least be calm about Ray enjoying the occasional glance at the backside of a handsome prospect, maybe more than a glance..<br>"I see. Well if that's the way you feel Ray, maybe I should leave." Came Fraser's bitter reply.  
>"Yeah!" Ray snapped, "Yeah, y'know what Frase? Maybe you <em>should.<em>"  
>And no sooner had he said it than the mountie had gathered his belongings and left.. great! Ray resisted the urge of shouting 'and don't come back!' down the hall after him.<br>The TV flickered back into life as Ray started drinking for real, no longer sipping the beer, but gulping it down, head tilted back so the alcohol just poured right down his gullet. Well, he thought, hadn't this evening all just turned to crap? He was pretty certain now that things could not get any worse.  
>Or could they?<p>

**T.B.C oh.. and trust me.. things _can_ get worse :) They always can when I'm writing. Comments are always welcome! xx**


	3. Mourning

That weekend passed in a booze-fuelled lament for Ray, his thoughts consisting entirely of Fraser and his lost friendship. So many times he heard the familiar sound of Fraser's footsteps outside his door, only to fling it open and find himself alone in the hall. Each disappointment made hime more bitter.  
>"You're <em>Stupid!<em>" he hissed at his drunken face in the mirror, jabbing at his head with his finger, "You've been stupid since the day you first set eyes on him! Thinking about him laughing and smiling, and enjoying the fact that you could make him happy. You have no right to expect people to like you! Sure, ya make 'em happy for a while but pretty quick they're hating you and arguing with you, and wishing you'd go away and leave them alone, and d'you wanna know why? Because you _expect too much_! You expect people to like you when you _like them_!" he spat, screwing his face up in inebriated disgust, "You.. you expect people to.._huh_" a huge sob wracked his body, and finally he broke into tears, "_You ex..expe...expect p-people to l-love youu.." _  
>Ray didn't even notice his own epiphany, it didn't matter; deep down he had always known that his feelings for Fraser were not only beyond platonic, but also beyond ordinary lust or passing affection. He had known he loved Benton Fraser since the first day he ever set eyes on him, since that very first moment, and it had compelled him to pull the man into a tight hug. He had just wanted to feel Fraser's chest against his own, to let himself know this was real and he was alive because for a moment there he forgot how to breathe.<br>But now none of it mattered. Nothing he had ever said or done mattered because Benton Fraser didn't love him back, he didn't want to be close to Ray or be friends with him. In fact, he was absolutely disgusted by Ray's sexuality, and he had left because of it, "_And he's never gonna come back_!" Ray howled, tears streaming down his face.  
>At some point within the next few hours he reached a conclusion that he needed to clean himself up, he tried to ignore how pathetic he felt, reassuring himself by thinking that Fraser would be there on Monday, waiting at the office to start their next case and ready to forgive everything. Ray made a firm decision that they would pretend that this had never happened, he would get a girlfriend or talk about getting back with Stella, and the situation would naturally calm down.<br>Yeah.. that's how it would go down.  
>He tried to call the consulate once he had sobered up but there was no reply, he ignored his mind telling him Fraser knew it was him calling, in the end he just decided the mountie was out and stopped trying.<br>Instead he called Walsh at the station and asked if anything interesting was happening, Walsh sounded surprised to hear him, saying he had just been about to dial Ray's number. Ray took down the details of the case, and covered up the throb he felt in his stomach when his boss said "We'll need the mountie on this one." With an overly chirpy "_Yep! Sure thing boss!" _ Walsh sounded mildly skeptical about Ray's mental health as he hung up the phone, but Ray knew he had got away with it this time.  
>He called at the consulate later, banging at the door with his fist so hard his hand went numb. Fraser answered the door after only a few moments, the confused look on his face turning sour as he saw Ray on the steps before him. "I thought we went our seperate ways." He remarked churlishly.<br>"_Okay! _You hate me now – I get it!" snapped Kowalski before sighing and looking away. He heard Fraser move to close the door, and reached his hand out to stop it closing, his gaze flicking back to the mountie's face, "I need you on a case." He stated, barely above a mumble.  
>"I'm afraid I'm not available." Fraser moved to close the door again, putting more weight on it, so Ray wedged his shoulder agianst it and leaned on it.<br>"You don't have a choice!" he grunted, struggling to keep the door open, "It affects the consulate."  
>After a moment of glaring at Ray suspiciously Fraser moved away from the door, walking away as it flung open behind him, sprawling Ray across the floor of the consulate's entranc e hall for the second time that week.<br>"Jeez Frase!" He puffed as he stood up again, closing the door and following his ex-friend to the office at the back of the consulate.  
>Once inside Fraser sat at his desk, motioning that Ray should do so himself, "Please be brief, I don't have time for 'idle chat' I'm afraid." And Ray could've sworn he would be sneering if he wasn't so Canadian.<br>"Yeah, me neither, you know I actually _have_ jurisdiction round here." Ray shot back at him, "Anyway there's a stakeout tonight, the building next door has had threats which suggest a possible terror attack, so I need you there incase someone shows up and tries to escape by jumping over the fence into consulate grounds."  
>"So you need me to arrest them if they come over here?" Fraser chose to ignore Ray's comments about his lack of authority on American soil.<br>"Yeah, okay?" Ray didn't even wait for Fraser's reply before he headed for the door; he had to get the hell outta here, and then he could just get as far away as possible.


	4. Endurance

Ray rubbed his hands together, trying to warm himself up before he became a human popsicle, the car heating had broken and it was a frosty night so he was pretty certain that if Fraser didn't shut the damn window in a minute he was gonna get hypothermia, "Fraser! Shut the damn window! I'ma get hyperthermia like this!"  
>"I think you mean hy<em>po<em>thermia Ray, hyp_er_thermia is when you're body overheats." Came the curt reply, "Besides which, having the window down helps me hear misplaced sounds in the local environment."  
>"Oh yeah? Well, maybe if I kick you outta my car you'll be able to hear the noises even better without me freezing my ass off!"<br>"I'm here because you needed me Ray! Now, if you're _determined_ to fight then I can just go back inside and sleep, it won't be _me _losing a potential terrorist!"  
>"<em>ALRIGHT!<em>" Ray didn't even realise his voice was so loud until he heard it cutting through the silence of the night around them, echoing from the walls and pavements. Someone dow the road opened the window and bellowed out a warning to 'keep it down out there' with the threat of them calling the police, "I am the police.." Ray mumbled "_I AM THE FUCKING POLICE!_"  
>"Ray!" Fraser was glaring at him, his cheeks slightly coloured in embarrasment and irritation, "Don't start arguments with the neighbours!"<br>Ray calmed a little then, and started to feel awkward as he realised how disgraceful his behaviour had just been, "I don't think anyone's coming, they're not gonna come, no one's coming, might aswell go.." he babbled, blushing uncontrollably as he forced his gaze to stay on the number plate ahead of them.  
>"Well, it's unlikely now that you've informed the whole street of your presence here. You know shouting obscenities in public is a felony?" Fraser stated matter-of-factly.<br>"Yeah, _thanks _Frase." Ray gave him a sarcastic smile, squinting his eyes and baring his teeth, "what are you gonna do? Drag me over to '_Canada_' and arrest me again?" Fraser clenched his jaw in an effort not to retaliate, "Here Frase! _Here_ use mine." Ray pulled his handcuffs out of his pocket.  
>Fraser observed the handcuffs in Ray's hands, shifting uncomfortably, "Put those away Ray."<br>"Oh.. what's the matter Fraser? Don't want someone like me on your turf anymore, huh?"  
>"What are you talking about Ray? Just put them <em>away<em>! I don't think you waving your handcuffs in my face is going to make this any more bearable for the pair of us!"  
>"Ohhhhh I see, because I'm bisexual I <em>must<em> have a huge crush on you so actually I'm using the cuffs as a _huge_ sexual hint!" Ray mocked an epiphany.  
>"I think you've managed to make it perfectly clear to me that you don't think of me in that manner Ray! Besides, this is already hard enough to endure without us <em>winding eachother up<em>.. perhaps we ought agree not to speak again for the rest of the night." Frasers lips were set in a firm line, his face turned away from Ray's.  
>"Yeah! Or <em>maybe<em> we oughtta just agree not to speakagain _period._" Ray ignored the sting in his heart as he said it, after all living apart from Fraser with fond memories was better than living day to day with his digust, _wasn't it_?  
>Fraser wiped at his eyes frantically, <em>probably got a cold coming on<em>, Ray thought. "Very well Ray, if that's what you think." He replied in a controlled voice, Ray took the shaking to be controlled anger or maybe even _joy_ at the prospect.  
>"Well then.. there we are." Ray looked out of his window, ignoring the tears that stung in his eyes. A moment later Fraser left the car.<br>"Goodbye then Ray." He murmured over his shoulder as he made a hasty retreat.  
>Ray heard feet on the consulate steps before the door clicked shut, he waited a while, feeling his emotions build inside his chest, "Goodbye.." he whispered, before leaning forward over the car wheel and letting the sobs wrack his body.<br>The next day Walsh called to say it had been a prank, some local youths playing around. Ray felt his body slump, but luckily he got the day off, so crying and sleeping could easily be packed into his original plans for a day of.. well.. crying and sleeping.


	5. Separation

_**Thanks to Tatau for the reviews and KirstyMD for the +Story Alert! :D  
>Enjoy xx<strong>_

The next day, a letter arrived begging for Fraser's return to the North, he couldn't help but feel that this seemed almost like the plotline to a sad story of heartbreak; hardly the sort of thing that occured to real people in the real world.  
>In under one week he had been rejected by the man he loved, argued with him to the point they were never going to speak again, and been called back to Canada so that any chance he <em>did <em>have of patching things up with Ray was now depleted. As Ray would say 'Greatness!'  
><em>Ray..<em> Fraser tried not to think about it, turning his mind to other matters instead, _the letter._ He knew he could not ignore it; it was from June, part of his old 'boy' scout troup.

_Fraser,  
>I hope that you understand that I wouldn't call you all this way back to the North if this wasn't of incredible urgency. I need your help, we all do!<br>Children from the village have been going missing when they've been doing errands in the wood, someone is preying on them, and even when they're in groups and they link arms to run away from him he still always catches one child. No bodies are found, the children just disappear and when the men from the village go out to hunt him they always return empty-handed, even when the best dogs are used.  
>However, recently the situation has worsened, now no children remain in the village, just two and one of those only came here because a storm forced her plane tomake an emergency landing and she came to us for shelter. She tells us she is the daughter of a man who has just become State's Attorney in Chicago, if this is so then we cannot risk losing her too, and our last child must be protected alongside her.<br>Please help us Frase, you're our only hope! We thought that since this involved Chicago and Canada you would be allowed to come and help us, I only pray we were right.  
>Godspeed,<br>June_

Fraser sighed and leaned back on his chair, slumping his shoulders and looking at the ceiling in thought, "You have to go son." His father chirped up, suddenely appearing on the other side of the desk, "Better start packing."  
>"<em>Dad<em>." Fraser paused a moment, calming himself befor continuing, "I know." He resigned himself to the self-torture that would accompany leaving Ray at this time, standing up and walking to the closet to find his old travel bag. _Ray.._ he thought, as he prepared his things, ignoring the incessant chirpings of Bob Fraser behind him.  
>Momentarily he considered how strange it was that they had just arrested Cahill, and now the daughter of the man who got the very role they prevented Cahill from attaining, and of all the times that this letter could arrive.. straight after him and Ray fell out, what <em>were<em> the chances?  
>But he pushed this from his mind and focused on his duty, clearly June had contacted him and not the nearest RCMP officer for help due to their shared past and the sense of trust they had built together. The rest was simply a matter of coincidence.<br>His case snapped shut. A note for Inspector Thatcher was put on the desk in the main hall. His hat was on his head. Diefenbaker was complaining. He was gone. Goodbye Ray.


End file.
